Chapter 2530: A talk I

Lex was having a really good day, or maybe it was because he was in a good mood since he was going to use the System Reboot token soon. Although the early days of the Inn had him constantly concerned about surviving long enough to become strong, they were also some of the most relaxing and memorable times inside the Inn.

Moreover, it was a good time to return to his roots. He needed a long time to consolidate his strength, shore up his weaknesses and expand his knowledge base. None of those things could be rushed, and all of them would have to happen inside the Inn, which is why he could once again start to connect with his guests once more.

The relationships that were formed with his guests naturally were things that could not be replaced. Back then, whether it was Marlo, or Alexander’s interesting grandparents, or the generals from the Jotun empire, Lex had some connection to them all. Now, he knew about his guests because he monitored the Inn, but he had no interactions with them, and that felt like depriving himself of some excellent opportunities.

In fact, it was with that thought that Lex found himself overwhelmed by a sudden whim. He paused whatever he was doing and began walking in a random part of the Inn - one of the towns that had developed with only a small population of 2000 guests at most.

Before rebooting the system, Lex felt like encountering and interacting with a guest one more time, as himself rather than as the Innkeeper. This town was random, the road was random, and so the guest he encountered would be random as well.

It only took him a couple minutes of walking before he finally encountered a guest. It was a young lady from some foreign race Lex didn’t recognize. She was humanoid, but had deep green skin and soft bumps all across her skin in symmetrical patterns.

She was sitting on a bench under a tree, feeding the wild animals. A number of squirrels and pigeons filled the grass in front of her, devouring the feed she had thrown.

Behind her stood an inn worker silently, ready if she needed anything at all. With the wind blowing, and her flowing white with blue patterns summer dress, it looked like a scene out of a painting.

Lex innately felt that she would be someone interesting to talk to and approached her. Yet as the young lady looked up, Lex froze. In fact, it seemed like not just Lex, but the entire region froze, all the guests and workers standing still in their place.

Lex’s system was about to generate a notification, but stopped itself right before, and went on as normal, as if it too could not sense what was happening.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth did not make any moves. She just silently observed Lex, her gaze that of a neutral observer as she took in everything that he was. She did not pry into his past - she didn’t care about that. She looked only at his present, and found a couple of quite interesting things.

They did not concern his power, or his Primordial Dao Body, or even the fractured but high level system still residing in his soul instead of fusing with him. No, the only two things she found interesting were his fledgling status as a Nephilim, and his associations.

From Lex, she sensed the auras of Eclipse, Nuwa, Wu Kong, the new human Paladin, and an unfamiliar Qilin. There were others, naturally, but these were the only ones she took notice of for two main reasons. The first, and most important, was that their relationship was not with the Inn, or with the Innkeeper, but Lex himself. Secondly, they were the only ones worthy of her note to begin with, though there were a few more who came close, such as the seven Dwarf Dragons.

The human one wasn’t specifically powerful enough for her to take note of just yet, but his Dao was genuinely unique enough that she had taken notice of him.

But, ultimately, all these things were merely worthy of attention, and they would not impact her actions or decisions in any way. Well... maybe the nephilim thing might. It was yet to be seen.

Lex unfroze, as did the rest of the town, though none seemed to notice that anything had happened at all.

Before he could introduce himself, the young lady spoke to Lex first.

"You look rather important. Are you a member of the Inn?" she asked, her tone strangely at ease, as if there was nothing left in this universe that could make her rush.

"Yes, yes I am. My name is Lex. Are you finding your stay here comfortable? If you have any concerns at all, do let me know," Lex said as he approached her.

The young lady nodded, and looked back at the animals.

"I’m making do. The Inn is... adequate accommodation, I suppose. If you have a bit of time, why don’t you take a seat. I would love to talk to you, and learn a bit more about yourself and this Inn you’ve built."

Lex did not notice the oddity in her phrasing at all, and happily took a seat beside her on the bench. It also had not occurred to him that if she wanted to learn more about the Inn, the staff member standing behind her could also be a sufficient source.

"Please, feel free to ask away. Talking to guests, learning about their lives, and sharing details of the Inn are some of my favorite things to do, so I’d be more than happy to talk."

Elizabeth nodded softly. She was not manipulating his actions or thoughts. Although, in the beginning she had nudged him into coming towards her, that was the only bit of actual manipulation she had done. Since then, everything Lex did and thought were completely a part of his own personality.

A comfortable silence fell in between them, with the only sounds that of the gentle breeze, and the small animals. Lex did not rush her, and allowed her to ask the first question. He had a feeling that she had a lot on her mind.

"I have to admit, the Inn does a good job of making its guests feel at home," the young lady eventually said as she held out a hand, allowing a small pigeon to land on it, eating the seeds directly out of it.

"Yeah, that’s one of my favorite things about the Inn actually," said Lex with a soft smile. "Not everyone has a place to belong. Some never had it to begin with, and some had it but lost it along the way. Others are separated from it for the time being. The Inn can be their refuge - the place where they rest, where they recharge, and rediscover the things that gave life meaning to begin with."

Once again, the young lady nodded softly.

"A noble goal, and not an easy one to accomplish and maintain, I think. It must require a lot to keep it safe."

The young lady turned and looked at Lex with a strange emotion hidden in her eyes. For once, Lex could not actually read what the emotion was.